Postcards and Video From The Edge

Houston Chronicle / AP:

Mexican Officials Visit U.S. on Immigration Fact-Finding Mission

Mexican immigration experts visiting the United States to see how this country deals with illegal immigrants say the U.S. is not the only country with a porous southern border. In Mexico, immigration officials struggle to handle a growing number of immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras and other countries who seek low-wage Mexican jobs that have been abandoned for better-paying jobs in the United States. "Mexico is a country of both transit and destination," said Gabriel Perez Duperou, deputy director of Sin Fronteras, an immigrants rights group based in Mexico City. "But for Mexico, it's not logical to demand a policy from a country to respect human rights if we are not respecting the human rights of immigrants." In part to learn and critique, a group of Mexican governmental officials and academics visited Arkansas as part of a three-city tour of how the United States handles immigration enforcement. The group traveled to El Paso, Texas, to see how officers patrol the border and to visit a jail for those arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The group also visited Washington, D.C., visiting with officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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CNN Lou Dobbs - video:

Federal Resources Not Available for Virginia's Immigration Enforcement Efforts

The federal government's failure to enforce existing immigration law has left the states with this responsibility. Virginia lawmakers are considering a proposal that would require jail officials statewide to question a suspect about legal status and start deportation proceedings. Virginia is one of 11 states where local police officers have signed up for special training to enforce federal immigration law. But there's not enough resources to go around. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Virginia lawmakers it can't guarantee federal money or bed spaces for all the jails in the state to participate in the program. In a statement ICE said: "Each jurisdiction has its own challenges. We work individually with each law enforcement agency to figure out the best way of tackling area specific problems." According to Michael Cutler, former INS agent, "We need more jail space for ICE. We need more judges. This is a series of dominoes. Each step of the way needs the resources." Because the federal government has not been able to pass immigration reform, more states are stepping in. Last year 18 jurisdictions requested training under Section 287(g) of the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act. This year, the number is 54 and counting.